Shared pathways enable people to get around more easily on foot and by bicycle, scooter, skateboard and with mobility aids – and our town is starting on a project to create two more high quality shared pathways.

These pathways and the areas around them will be places for us to enjoy and connect with the Whanganui River and town centre, just as much as they will encourage active travel. Craig Pocock, of Pocock Design Environment, has developed some exciting concepts to transform the landscape along the shared pathways and enhance existing features.

City to North Mole Shared Pathway

This 3m wide sealed path/boardwalk goes from Whanganui City Bridge to the North Mole, largely upgrading the existing pathway.

It celebrates our river culture and heritage, creating a magnificent riverside trail that connects the town centre to the Tasman Sea and an iconic end point for the Mountains to Sea national cycle trail.

Construction is planned to start in early 2016.

Te Tuaiwi Shared Pathway

This 3m wide sealed path will provide a safe route across the Whanganui City Bridge, through town and past some of our central schools. It connects with many of our existing pathways through town and will give our

It connects with many of our existing pathways through town and will give our children a safer route to school. It will also  make it easier and safer for people to get around town on foot, by bike, scooter or skateboard, or with mobility aids.

Construction is planned for 2017.

Who pays?

Most of the funding for the transport aspects comes from the NZ Transport Agency’s Urban Cycleways Fund and the government’s National Land Transport Fund. The Council is providing the balance. We will have to fund the landscape features locally.

Want to know more?

You can take a‘ virtual walk’ of the pathways, see the design concepts and get more information on our website at www.whanganui.govt.nz/pathways.

Tell us what you think

We’d love to know what you think about the ideas we’ve come up with and what your priorities are for our town’s shared pathways and active transport.

Building these pathways will mean some changes to our street layout to fit everything in, while the landscaping improvements, signs and planned wetland areas will all make the riverfront a more exciting and vibrant place to stay a while.

You can give us your feedback about the preliminary design concepts and options using our online survey which should take about 5-10 minutes to fill in. The survey and some more visual concepts are available at www.whanganui.govt.nz/pathways.